Cutter for non-woven fabric towel dispensers



June 22, 1965 ca. w. WYANT CUTTER FOR NON-WOVEN FABRIC TOWEL DISPENSERS Filed July 1, 1963 /NVENTOR G. W. WyAN T iLm/Z Arronmzys United States Patent 3,190,520 CUTTER FOR NON-WQVEN FABRIC TOWEL DESPENS'ERS Gerald W. Wyant, 4343 Mayfair Ave, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Filed July 1, 1963, Ser. No. 291,651 Claims priority, application Canada, Apr. 8, 1%3, 872,834 2 Claims. (Cl. 225-39) This invention relates to towel dispensers and particularly to a cutter bar forming a part of the towel dispenser, such cutter bar being particularly adapted for the cutting of non-woven fabric towels having a soft fluffy texture and having considerable strength in the long direction of the towel and considerably less strength in the transverse direction which is the direction along which the towel is to be cut.

The invention consists essentially in the provision of a cutter carrying member pivotally mounted in the lower front portion of the towel dispenser, the said cutter carrying member incorporating a towel dispensing slot in its lower horizontal edge and a towel cutter blade mounted on the forward wall of the towel dispensing slot with its cutting edge projecting slightly below the lowermost edge of the wall on which the blade is mounted. The pivoted cutter carrying member, when in the towel cutting position, presses the towel against an interior portion of the towel roll supporting structure to hold the towel firmly against downward pull on the towel while the towel is being cut by pulling the towel in a transverse direction against the cutting edge of the cutting blade. The cutter carrying member in its other pivoted position being located in a plane parallel with the vertical front wall of the towel dispenser. The lower portion of the cutter carrying member including the dispenser slot and the cutter blade is turned inwards at an angle in order to direct the projected portion of the towel downwardly and rearwardly of the front of the dispensing cabinet and to provide protection of the exposed cutting edge of the cutting blade when the dispenser is not in use and to provide a degree of protection when the dispenser is in use.

In my previous patent application Serial No. 30,028 now Patent No. 3,104,043, there is disclosed a paper towel dispensing cabinet having a pivoted cutter bar in which the lower edge of the bar was provided with a serrated cutting edge. This arrangement was quite suitable for cutting paper towels but was totally unsuitable for cutting a non-woven fabric towel of the type mentioned herein. The present invention is an improvement over the device described in the above patent.

The non-woven fabric towel herein described is of the type manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and sold and distributed under the trade name Masslinn.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a dispensing cabinet for non-woven fabric towel in which there is incorporated a cutting blade forming one wall of the towel dispensing slot.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pivoted cutting blade carrying member which will hold the fabric towel firmly against unwinding from its roll while a length of towel is being cut off.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pivoted cutting blade carrying member which will guide the towel through its dispensing slot without interfering with the operation of pulling a length of towel downwards out of the dispenser.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby fabric towelling which has considerable stretchability in a transverse direction can be cut evenly without 3,1995% Patented June 22, 1965 pulling or distortion as it comes off the roll in a towel dispenser.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fabric towel dispensing cabinet and showing the cutter carrying member pivoted into the towel cutting position.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial vertical section of the towel dispensing portion of the dispensing cabinet showing the cutter carrying member closing off the front of the cabinet.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial vertical section on the line 33 of FIG. 1 showing the cutter carrying member in the towel cutting position.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower portion of the cutter carrying member showing the cutting blade and guide slot for the towel.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional plan view on the lines 55 of FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings the cabinet 5 may be of any suitable design capable of storing and dispensing a roll of non-woven fabric towel and is here shown as having a cover 6 pivoted at 7 to the side walls 8 and 9 of the cabinet. The cover 6 has a lower portion 10 forming the upper portion of the front wall of the cabinet when the cover is in the closed position as shown in FIG. 1.,

The roll of non-woven fabric towel 11 is supported on the member 12 extending lengthwise of the cabinet between the cabinet side walls 8 and 9. This member 112 has its front edge bent upwardly and then downwardly to form a rounded shoulder 13 over which the free end. 14 of the towel is trained, the downward extending portion 15 of the member 12 forms one wall of a dispensing throat 15a which wall 15 is located in a plane parallel with the front face of the cabinet defined by the portion 10 of the cover 6 and spaced inwardly therefrom. The lower edge of the portion 15 adjacent each of the end walls 8 and 9 is cut-out to form a pair of slots 16 for a purpose which will be described hereafter.

A blade carrying member 17 forming the other wall of the dispensing throat 15a is pivotally mounted between the side walls 8 and 9 at '18 and is bias weighted to maintain a normally vertical front wall position. The said member 17 comprises a fiat member 19 whose lower horizontal edge is bent inwardly to form one face 20 of the towel dispensing slot 21. A pair of end lugs 23 are bent at right angles from the ends of the portions 29 of the member 17 to lie parallel with and close to each of the end walls 8 and 9 and pass through the slots 16 when the member 17 is pivoted into the position shown in FIG. 3. A bent member 24 is provided with end lugs 25 which face against and are secured to the lugs 23 preferably by spot welding. This member 24 has two faces 26 and 27 located parallel with and spaced from the flat member 19 and the face 20 respectively of the member 17 to form the opposite face of the towel dispensing slot 21. The lower edge 28 of the member 24 projects downwardly beyond the adjacent lower edge 31 of the member 20.

A cutting blade 29 preferably of about the thickness of a Gillette safety razor blade is secured to the inner facing surface of the member 20 and has its continuous cutting edge 30 projecting below the lower edge 31 of the member 20 but not as far down as the lower edge 28 of the member 24, in the manner shown in FIG. 4. The blade 29 extends the whole length of the dispensing slot 21 and is preferably secured to the surface of the member 20 by spot welding.

The member 17 is provided with a centrally disposed slot 32 which overlies a cut-out 33 in the member 15 to permit the free end of the towel to be gripped to assist in threading the towel through the dispensing slot 21.

The lugs 23 are angled at 23a to engage with the adjacent edges of the slots 16 in the member 15 for the purpose of acting as a stop to maintain the member 17 in the vertical position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the operation of this invention, the roll of nonwoven fabric towel has considerable strength to resist stretch in the longitudinal direction and has considerably less strength in the transverse direction, therefore, it is essential that the width of the dispensing slot between the blade 29 and the face 27 defining the dispensing slot be as close as possible to the thickness of the non-woven towel. This is necessary in order to hold the towel perfectly flat in the slot while the free end of the towel is being drawn along the length of the cutting blade during the cutting operation.

The roll of non-woven fabric towel is supported freely on the member 12 and the free end 14 of the towel is trained over the shoulder 13 and led down through the throat 15a and threaded through the dispensing slot 21. The angular disposition of the dispensing slot ensures that the free end of the towel will always be directed downwardly and inwardly of the front face of the dispensing cabinet. It also ensures that the exposed cutting edge of the blade 29 will be protected against damage and also protect the user against accidental cutting.

When it is desired to cut off a length of towel, the free end of the towel is gripped between the fingers and pulled downwards through the dispensing slot. When a sulficient length has been pulled out the towel is pulled forwardly. This has the effect of pivoting the top portion of the member 17 into engagement with the towel at the rounded shoulder 13 to hold the towel firmly against further pull-out from the roll. The free end the towel is then given a sharp sideways pull against the cutting edge 30 of the blade 29, which, due to its thinness and sharpness and the fact that the towel has little or no free play in the dispensing slot, effects cutting of the towel along a sharp clean line in a manner which cannot be accomplished except by use of the blade set in the dispensing slot in the manner described.

What I claim is:

1. A dispensing cabinet for dispensing rolled non-woven towel of soft-fluffy texture having relatively low strength in the transverse direction, the said cabinet comprising an outer casing, a roll towel supporting structure within the said cabinet, a blade carrying member pivotally mounted in the said cabinet and forming a part of said outer casing, the said roll supporting structure and the said blade carrying member together forming a towel dispensing throat in said cabinet, a dispensing slot forming member disposed parallel to and spaced apart from the lower inner facing surface of the said blade carrying member, the lower horizontal edge of the said slot forming member being disposed below the adjacent lower horizontal edge of the blade carrying member, a towel cutting blade, of the thickness of a Gillette safety razor blade, secured to the inner facing surface of the blade carrying member, the said blade having a continuous, razor sharp cutting edge projecting slightly below the lowermost horizontal edge of the blade carrying member and slightly above the adjacent lower horizontal edge of the said slot forming member, the said blade carrying member being bias weighted to maintain a normally vertical front wall position of the said cabinet throat and taking up a pivotal position to hold the said towel against the throat forming portion of said roll supporting structure when a length of towel is being cut against the said blade.

2. A dispensing cabinet as set forth in claim 1, in which the lower portion of the blade carrying member, the dispensing slot forming member and the towel cutting blade are disposed at an angle to the vertical and the lower edges thereof are located within the outer surfaces of the cabinet when the blade carrying member is in its normal weight biased position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,243,569 10/17 Taylor 2255l 2,134,631 10/38 Birr 225l2 X 2,138,338 11/38 Casasco 22574 2,482,714 9/49 Mell 22589 X 2,819,137 1/58 Jones 2255l 3,040,943 6/62 Bump 225-73 X ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSING CABINET FOR DISPENSING ROLLED NON-WOVEN TOWEL OF SOFT-FLUFLY TEXTURE HAVING RELATIVELY LOW STRENGTH IN THE TRANSVERSE DIRECTION, THE SAID CABINET COMPRISING AN OUTER CASING, A ROLL TOWEL SUPPORTING STRUCTURE WITHIN THE SAID CABINET, A BLADE CARRYING MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN THE SAID CABINET AND FORMING A PAIR OF SAID OUTER CASING, THE SAID ROLL SUPPORTING STRUCTURE AND THE SAID BLADE CARRYING MEMBER TOGETHER FORMING A TOWEL DISPENSING THROAT IN SAID CABINET, A DISPENSING SLOT FORMING MEMBER DISPOSED PARALLEL TO AND SPACED APART FROM THE LOWER INNER FACING SURFACE OF THE SAID BLADE CARRYING MEMBER, THE LOWER HORIZONTAL EDGE OF THE SAID SLOT FORMING MEMBER BEING DISPOSED BELOW THE ADJACENT LOWER HORIZONTAL EDGE OF THE BLADE CARRYING MEMBER, A TOWEL CUTTING BLADE, OF THE THICKNESS OF A GILLETTE SAFTETY RAZOR BLADE, SECURED TO THE INNER FACING SURFACE OF THE BLADE CARRYING MEMBER, THE SAID BLADE HAVING A CONTINUOUS, RAZOR SHARP CUTTING EDGE PROJECTING SLIGHTLY BELOW THE LOWERMOST HORIZONTAL EDGE OF THE BLADE CARRYING MEMBER AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE ADJACENT LOWER HORIZONTAL EDGE OF THE SAID SLOT FORMING MEMBER, THE SAID BLADE CARRYING MEMBER BEING BIAS WEIGHTED TO MAINTAIN A NORMALLY VERTICAL FRONT WALL POSITION OF THE SAID CABINET THROAT AND TAKING UP A PIVOTAL POSITION TO HOLE THE SAID TOWEL AGAINST THE THROAT FORMING PORTION OF SAID ROLL SUPPORTING STRUCTURE WHEN A LENGTH OF TOWEL IN BEING CUT AGAINST THE SAID BLADE. 